Admissions

Admissions

School/Pupil Criteria for Admissions 

We have pupils from reception, up to year 14 with a range of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. All pupils will have an Education, Health and Care plan (EHC).  Our pupils have a wide range of cognitive and physical disabilities, requiring specialist support to meet their individual needs.
We cater to children and young people with severe or profound and multiple learning difficulties who would find it challenging to thrive in a mainstream school setting.

We are currently oversubscribed and have no available places.

The chart below outlines an overview of needs we can and cannot meet to guide to allow us to consider if we may be a suitable school for a child. 

 Whether we are a suitable placement also depends on whether we can meet the needs and provision stated in a child’s EHCP.

Needs we may be able to meet depending on provision stated in EHCP

Needs we do not meet and would be unsuitable for as a placement

– Cognition and learning needs well below their chronological age (KS1 is the highest level our pupils work at, and most are working significantly below this) – Severe learning difficulties – Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities – Children with neurodiversity – Children with specific disabilities/diagnoses – Speech, language and communication difficulties – Sensory and physical needs (depending on specifics) – Some behaviour, emotional and social development needs – Visual impairment – Hearing impairment (BSL is however not used or taught at Ashgate) – Multi-sensory impairment – Physical disabilities – Some other needs depending on provision needed and learning level of the pupil

– Pupils who are at Age Related Expectations, or those within a few years of their Age Related Expectations – Pupils who need or will need access to the national curriculum or subject specific teachers in KS3 and above – Pupils who are able to access SATS/GCSEs/A Levels or equivalents – Pupils whose main barrier to education are Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs – Moderate learning needs – Children with sensory needs that mean they will not be able to access learning in a school/classroom environment (due to noise/unpredictable behaviour of others/busy classroom environments etc)

Admissions are dealt with by the Local Authority, please contact them direct and ask for Special Needs Admission Team:

Special Needs Section
Derbyshire County Council
County Hall
Matlock
DE4 3AG
Email: CS.SENDAdmin@derbyshire.gov.uk

Alternatively, if you would like to provide feedback please contact us at consultations@learnerstrust.org

For some Parents/Carers, we appreciate the decision to consider the possibility of a special school is a difficult one.  

If you would like to visit the school on one of our open days, please complete the booking form below.

Prospective Parent/Carer Visit Booking Form

Places need to be booked in advance.

Please note that due to the volume of requests we receive and the complex needs of our students,  we are unfortunately unable to offer any visits outside of the open days scheduled below.

Open days for prospective families:

Academic Year 2025 – 2026

• Wednesday 01st October 2025: 1.30pm – 2.30pm
• Wednesday 28th January 2026: 1.30pm – 2.30pm

Academic Year 2026 – 2027

Dates for our prospective parent/carer visits for 2026 – 2027 will be set towards the end of this academic year.

Our Leadership Team will be pleased to discuss with you the individual needs of your child and any concerns that you may have. Please note, we are no longer able to offer tours around the school to avoid impacting our current pupils.

You will have the opportunity to meet members of the Leadership Team and our Pathway Leads

Placements for September 2026 have now been allocated, we are now oversubscribed for September 2026 and have no remaining places